The Outback Remembers Rain

Dry earth, a fierce sun, and perpetual stickiness: These greet us as the days slip by in Alice Springs. The rain is a memory, locked within the heartbeat of this place, as locals dream of when it will return. Most consider rain a blessing that is too rare; but over the past year, rain across Australia has brought terror and hardship as floods have descended.

The last few years in Alice have been wetter than usual. However, there have still been long stretches of clear skies. Sometimes they are so enduring that citizens despair of the wet ever coming again and breaking the pressure of the dry. However, eventually, the rain does return, and the scent of moisture stings the air.

The Todd River, January 2023 (Photo credit: Maryanne Wise)

2023 is well underway. It comes on the back of the Todd River flowing in its early days. Central Australia, so famous for its red earth, for a time, looked green. Desert grasses sprang up and carpeted the hills, and wildlife came alive. Those who have lived here a long time see the rise and fall of the seasons like the slope of the landscape, and they know that the beauty of Central Australia is enduring even as it takes a new form of freshness in the aftermath of a downpour.

In these initial days of the new year, the temperature is soaring and the humidity uncomfortable. We don’t know when the next storm will hit. There is a lot of distance yet to go in 2023. But surely, the days will pass, and we will see rain again.